The following contains spoilers for Episode 10 of Urusei Yatsura, “Parents' Day Horrors/Since Your Parting,” now streaming onHiDive.
The tenth episode ofUrusei Yatsurais a rather special one. The first part introduces Lum’s mother and is a light, humorous episode that is rather short, despite bringing back a new character. The part is the usualUrusei Yatsurafare, and certainly doesn’t hint at anything more than that.
The second part, however, is completely different,focusing on the still-rocky relationship between Lum and Ataru. Ataru’s general disdain for Lum’s affection has always been played for laughs, but this is the first time that it is shown in a more serious light, and the episode forces Ataru to confront his relationship with Lum for the first time in the new series. This is a landmark moment for the series, and it was executed perfectly by David Production.
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“Parents' Day Horrors”
Ataru’s mother arrives at Ataru’s school for Parents' Day, deeply worried that she will be embarrassed by whatever antics Ataru will get up to. While walking to the school building, she meets up with Shinobu’s mother as well as Mendo’s mother,who arrives to school in an ox cart. Said ox cart is destroyed by a large spaceship, from which a beautiful woman with horns emerges. She is energetic and friendly, but cannot speak English at all, leaving Ataru’s mother confused as to who she is.
Lum arrives and recognizes her as her own mother, introducing her to everyone. Her introductions are interrupted by Mendo’s mother, who uses her son to interpret her complaints about her destroyed ox cart to Lum’s mother. Lum must interpret for her mother, but her poor translation skills end up giving Lum’s mother the wrong impression. Growing irritated, Mendo’s mother attempts to challenge Lum’s mother to a duel, but Lum’s mother once again gets confused and believes she is trying to have her married to her son instead. Exhausted, Mendo’s mother decides to go home for the day, and the part ends without Ataru getting to do anything.
“Since Your Parting”
The day starts off like normal, with Lum loudly forcing Ataru out of bed and taking him to school on time. While walking to school, Lum notices that the color of the leaves on the trees have begun to change, and Ataru’s classmates explain the concept of fall to her. Awed by the concept, Lum mentions that she’d like to see the leaves in autumn.
At school, Ataru shows off his yo-yo skills while Lum seems to be sewing a secret present for Ataru. Mendo makes a crack that Lum will soon get tired of Ataru, and Ataru gives back his usual retort of how he doesn’t care. Instead of getting angry like she normally would, Lum claims that she’s worried about Ataru, since he usually gets himself into trouble whenever she’s not around. Back at home, Lum starts to tell Ataru something,but Ataru doesn’t listen as he is still annoyed at being rudely woken up in the morning. Ataru notices that Lum has finished whatever she was working on, but Lum refuses to let him see it. Ataru goes to bed, still angry, and Lum leaves her finished present, a doll made in her image, on the desk. She then gives Ataru a farewell that seems different from the usual one, but Ataru doesn’t notice.
The next morning, Ataru is woken by his mother, as Lum does not show up to wake him. Ataru assumes that Lum has overslept and did not show up to school because she was ashamed of it. However, it soon becomes clear that Lum has disappeared, and despite his usual claims, Ataru clearly misses her, having started carrying the doll she had left him. Eventually, Mendo suggests that Lum might have dumped him and left, which makes Ataru think that Mendo had something to do with her disappearance.
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His bizarre outburst makes Mendo wonder if something has happened to Lum, and Ataru admits that she is missing. Mendo immediately uses his family’s vast resources to look for Lum, to no avail. As the search for Lum continues, the other students wonder if Lum really has dumped Ataru. Despondent, Ataru runs back to every place he has had memories of Lum, but still cannot find her.
In the end, it turns out that Lum was on one of her family’s ships the entire time, renewing her passport with her parents. While helping her fill out the passport, Lum’s father accidentally turns on a speaker by Lum’s side, which turns out to be connected to a receiver inside Lum’s doll. Through that, Lum hears Ataru cry in his sleep as he moans about her leaving, and is happy to hear his true feelings. Lum eventually returns to Earth and reunites with Ataru, when the leaves have turned red and begun falling.
True Feelings & Acknowledgment
While it is certainly nice to see Lum’s mother, she is ultimately a small part of what makes this episode so special. Ataru and Lum’s relationship is the main focus of the series, and since this is a romantic comedy, some romantic progress is to be expected. However, Ataru has always made it clear that he doesn’t like Lum’s constant badgering, making it seem as if Lum’s affections are one-sided.
This episode, however, proves that Ataru’s feelings towards Lum contain more than irritation and animosity. It’s clear he cares for her,but is unable to come to terms with itfor one reason or another. While Ataru never makes any kind of confession or admission to Lum about his feelings, it is clear to her and anyone watching that he likes having her around. While we’ll certainly go back to comedy hijinks with the next episode, it’s nice to see a wholesome and heartwarming moment between the two.
